ArtwordBlog

Author: Ronald Weihs

  • The pandemic is the medium

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    Ronald Weihs
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    When it started, I thought the interruption would be short. Life would revert. We’d get back to the headlong insanity that we called normal. A year has passed, and that once-vivid world is just another memory. Like university. Like that summer vacation, when you couldn’t wait to go back next year. Like Humphrey Bogart saying…

  • Atom Egoyan’s Guest of Honour, at the Playhouse

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    Ronald Weihs
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    Poster for Guest of Honour. David Thewlis. Atom Egoyan’s new film, Guest of Honour, was shot mostly in Hamilton. Last night, masks in place, we saw it at the Playhouse Cinema. I am a great admirer of Atom Egoyan’s films. Yes, they are dark and brooding. Yes, they drift and ramble. I’m okay with that,…

  • Limits to Common Sense

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    Ronald Weihs
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    Today’s Hamilton Spectator (September 31, 2019) has an opinion piece by Matthew Lau in praise of economist Milton Friedman, founder of the “Chicago School” espousing the virtues of unrestrained free market capitalism. He cites two of Friedman’s ideas, which he treats as obvious: “nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as he spends his own.”…

  • The art of politics

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    Ronald Weihs
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    Posted on August 2, 2019 by roncw The NY Times columnists, a dozen or more,  rate the performances of the Democratic candidates as if they are auditioning for a theatrical performance. They answer questions that include ideas, but their responses are judged on body language and seeming sincerity. The ideas are selected from a list…

  • Playing Real Good for Free

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    Ronald Weihs
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    One of the pleasures of our 10-day stay in Lisbon was the quality of the street music all over the city. Best of all was a really fine ensemble from Cabo Verde playing near the waterfront, Nôs Raíz. We listened to their concert for about 40 minutes and bought a CD, which turns out to…

  • RSC: Kathryn Hunter’s Timon of Athens

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    Ronald Weihs
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    Kathryn Hunter in Timon of Athens, photo by Simon Annand When Judith and I  learned that the Royal Shakespeare was doing Timon of Athens this winter, with Kathryn Hunter in the lead role, we were more than excited. Kathryn Hunter is a remarkable actor. She is known for her powerful stage presence, her prowess as…